A terminal box for a solar cell module generally includes a box body in the shape of a square case and a cover, and accommodates therein electrical components and cable connecting devices. The cover for closing an opening of the box body is fit to the opening of the box body and then screwed, for example, at four corners to be fixed to the box body. When a cable connecting operation is to be performed, fastening screws at the four corners are removed and then the cover is detached from the box body to enable the connecting operation.
A solar cell module is normally installed at a high location, and the location is sometimes inclined and therefore not a good place for operations. This may cause the cover detached from the box body to be lost during the operations, and improvements for this have been sought. Because the terminal box is installed on the rear surface of the solar cell module, the operator needs to perform the cable connecting operation lying under the solar cell module on his/her back. This operation is not easy and therefore requires to be improved.
For this improvement, it is conventionally proposed that one end of a cover is pivotally supported by a box body so that the cover is pivotally opened or closed. According to this proposed technique, the cover is connected to the box body even when the cover is in an opened state, which prevents the cover from being lost. Because the end of the cover is pivotally supported, the number of positions to be screwed is reduced to half and workability is enhanced (see, for example, Patent Document 1).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H09-186470